morphology : units of meaning (ex. cats has two-- cat + s)
lexical: the individual meaning that a word carries
bound: units of sound that hold meaning but must be attached to something else, like prefixes and suffixes
derivational and inflectional: usually suffixes that change the class of the word, like dust-->dusty
compound: two words together, like football, rainbow
idiom: expression that has a meaning different from its individual words
syntax: how morphenes, or words, are arranged in a sentence
semantics: deals with the slight differences that language allows for, such as: happy, content, thrilled, pleased, etc...
pragmatics: how to use language, how to engage in conversation, cues on tact, etc...
Language development
Birth to 1 month -- crying, different types for different messages--high-pitched, throaty, whining, fussy
2 to 3 months -- make sounds in response to stimulus, control voice, mimic tongue/mouth movement of others
3 to 6 months -- make cooing sounds, mimic nonverbal language, range of sounds, sound play, most vowels/consonants
6 to 9 months -- echolalia , or babbling that sounds like conversation, goal-oriented language such as "dada"
9 to 12 months -- speaking, listening and comprehending, responding to basic questions
12 to 18 months -- building vocabulary
18 to 24 months -- building sentences
24 to 36 months -- still using approximations for words, "I lub you" "I want ride bise"
Influential conditions
Gender differences in language acquisition? Some evidence says girls talk earlier than boys, but may be social
Socio-economic conditions may hinder language acquisition, if there is less linguistic input from family
cultural influences: Some cultures utilize more non-verbal language and may influence a child's language development
Medical concerns
congenital language disorders--physical or neurological disorders, sometimes ear damage
disfluency: rate of speech affected, such as stuttering or speaking too slowly
otisis media: when there is something wrong with the ear canal that results in damaged hearing
pronunciation: lisps, etc...
Chapter 3
Guiding questions:
How can parents facilitate oral language development? By scaffolding their language, encouraging them to tell narratives, read stories
Initiation, response, evaluation (IRE) class talk: teacher asks, student answers, teacher accepts or rejects. Problematic because it does not present as many opportunities to talk and develop rich oral language.
Group activities, learning centers and drama promote oral language acquisition by creating language content
Language-rich play can be encouraged with themed props, culturally relevant props, being involved with play, and have long play periods
Sharing and show-and-tell is a valuable language activity by allowing children to tell narratives, encouraging questions and answers
Teachers can assess language through interaction and observation while child is engaged in language activity
Teachers can encourage bilingual and second language learners by giving them opportunities to use language, tell narratives, ask questions, etc...
Vocabulary:
active listening
anecdotal record: brief note describing a child's behavior
checklist: observation tool for teachers to check off when a certain behavior is observed
dramatic play: children take on roles and act out stories
imitation, response, evaluation (IRE): pattern of classroom talk, teacher asks, students answers, teacher accepts/rejects
metalinguistic awareness: making connections with the forms of the words, for example, a child notices that two words rhyme
metaplay language: specific language used in dramatic play "I'll be the driver, and you be the biker"
personal narrative: story about someone told by that person (I was in Texas last year...)
pretend language: words used to take on a role: "mooo! moooo!)
rubric: scoring tools for teachers to evaluate proficiency
scaffolding: temporary assistance from teacher, parent to help a child when they could not do it on their own
Home talk
a child's natural learning environment, supported by parents, siblings
encouraging personal narratives
Expanding child's language skills
Child says "Kitty eat," parent responds with "Kitty is eating his food," or "Kitty is hungry"
Reading storybooks, repetition especially effective, allows for evaluation and reflection
open-ended questions
TV as a language tool: programming appropriate, active viewing (watch television together)
School talk
teacher discourse -- some problems:
too much time talking to children, rather than with them
dominate discussion by controlling who gets to talk and about what
children spend most of the time listening to teacher
children talk as response to teacher's questions, usually closed questions with one right answer
three recommendations:
allow for reciprocal conversations
activity centered language opportunities, where students accomplish something
language activities that draw attention to one specific aspect of language
context for encouraging language:
group activities
learning centers -- computer labs, going to the zoo to learn about animals
dramatic play, acting out situations, stories, etc...
play settings: stick with what they know. Children love to play house, or with baby dolls, domestic scenes
language-centered activities
sharing, show-and-tell: allows for speaking in front of class or in smaller groups with participation. Something with a good narrative behind it, something homemade with explanation or description; something funny or interesting that requires explanation
storytelling: retelling stories, make-believe stories, make up stories to go along with pictures, link storytelling and writing
language play: messing around with language, humor, trying it out
three suggestions:
allow play to flourish, teacher and students can laugh together
serve as a model by sharing
value each child's contribution
songs and finger plays
using song to encourage language, repeated choruses, repeated phrases, sound effects, tell stories, ask questions
Older children
cooperative learning groups:
need to communicate to accomplish goal
taught to encourage one another
students are interdependent
frequent groups allows for more language opportunities
redundancy--students learn if they speak repeatedly on the same topic
developmentally appropriate
feedback rich
dramatic simulations
different forms of media
ESL students
teachers must adjust their own speech
provide context for language learning, rich with materials and objects aiding in learning
create opportunities such as reciprocal questions
acknowledge and allow for mistakes, provide feedback
be sensitive to cultural differences, allow native language as way to express oneself
Table of Contents
Notes from the reading:
Chapter 2 Reading
Language acquisition theories
Key terms
Language development
Influential conditions
Medical concerns
Chapter 3
Guiding questions:
Vocabulary:
Home talk
School talk
Older children
ESL students